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| Europe |
| Berlusconi Reports Vatican Terror Threat |
| 2003-12-27 |
| By Associated Press December 27, 2003, 11:49 AM EST ROME -- Terrorists planned to attack the Vatican with a hijacked plane on Christmas Day, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was quoted as saying in a newspaper article published Saturday. Berlusconi told Milan’s Libero newspaper of a "precise and verified news of an attack on Rome on Christmas Day." "A hijacked plane into the Vatican," Berlusconi was quoted as saying. "An attack from the sky, is that clear? The threat of terrorism is very high in this instant. I passed Christmas Eve in Rome to deal with the situation. Now I feel calm. It will pass." He added, "It isn’t fatalism, but the knowledge of having our guard up. If they organized this, they will not pull it off." Berlusconi gave no further details in the interview about who the intended hijackers were, where the information came from and how the attack was thwarted. Security has been tightened around the Vatican in recent weeks amid reports that churches could become terrorist targets. During Christmas celebrations, Italian police guarded the perimeter of the vast St. Peter’s Square and pilgrims entering the basilica passed through metal detectors. The Vatican refused Saturday to respond to questions about a possible Christmas threat. Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement, "As in every case of suspected or valid information regarding security themes, I have no comment to make." Berlusconi’s office issued its own statement Saturday, saying the premier’s remarks did not amount to official declarations. "Premier Silvio Berlusconi gave no interview. One cannot confuse a quick exchange of Christmas greetings with political declarations," it said. The premier later criticized the article and distanced himself from the quotes. The newspaper said it stood by the story, which also quoted him as saying he received information in November of a planned attack on the subways of Milan and Rome. "There were those who insisted that the stations be closed," Berlusconi is quoted as saying. "I took on myself the responsibility for avoiding certain measures. They would had the same effect on the minds of people as an attack, they would have killed us inside, with dramatic social and economic consequences. "Terrorism wants to make us close up. I preferred to double up the safety checks." |
| Posted by:Anonymous |
| #12 the ultimate terrorist success is to let the potential victims become paralyzed by their own imagination, thinking up terrorist schemes for themselves Point taken. I'm not saying we should cower in a cave or a hole in the ground. I'd be hitting Tempe or LA (even better N.O. but that's a pipe dream) if things had worked out right. I just think we shouldn't close our minds to what kinds of nefarious plans the mutts can think up. Being alert and vigilant is entirely different than being paralyzed by imagination. |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2003-12-27 10:51:27 PM |
| #11 4thInfVet---the ultimate terrorist success is to let the potential victims become paralyzed by their own imagination, thinking up terrorist schemes for themselves. That is why it is so important to continually take the war to the terrorist and let him be on the defensive. I sure hope we keep up the momentum. Frawnce's level of cooperation and big mouth have not been really helpful, but at least we know that they are not a friend, but an enemy. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-12-27 9:56:08 PM |
| #10 football bowl game That's the part we need to be concerned about. 60-100k people sitting in a stadium or thinly-roofed dome on New Years, that's a target the mutts have to dream about. I hate to give them too much credit, but could the 'air stinky' thing have been a feint? Is it possible to be too paranoid about this kind of thing? |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2003-12-27 7:27:31 PM |
| #9 A Paris-LAX flight would not have to deviate much if at all to dive into a building at Lost Wages. Its doubtful the Top Guns at Nellis would have had enough warning about a 747 on a terminal dive into the city to shoot it down. They played a football bowl game there Xmas Eve also, so there were targets available other than the gambling palaces. |
| Posted by: Rivrdog 2003-12-27 6:14:02 PM |
| #8 GK - I'd settle for leveling Al-Aqsa back to the Temple Mount elevation LOL Call me a crusader! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-12-27 3:50:29 PM |
| #7 Maybe this deal with Air Phrog was possibly a destructo incident in LA or Vegas. Or maybe a deviation would force us to shoot down an airliner. After all, Al Q wants to destroy the economies of the western nations, esp. the US. What better way then to attack with the results of destroying an industry vital to the economic health and communication of the west. At least that is my 2 ryals worth.... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-12-27 3:26:53 PM |
| #6 A jet fueled for Paris to LA would have plenty left when it hit New York. It would never make it to New York. That great a deviation from flight plan would lead to its being intercepted and if necessary shot down over the Atlantic. And there'd be hours to discover the deviation and make the necessary decisions. That's why I rejected that scenario. There would be much less time for a deviation to Rome, and failure would depend on the willingness of the French and Italians to see clearly and act quickly. And I don't know how likely that is. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2003-12-27 3:15:27 PM |
| #5 Careful with the holy site leveling, Frank. Muslims consider Jerusalem to be the third most holy site in Islam. Might also anger a few Christians and Jews if Jerusalem gets razed. |
| Posted by: Gasse Katze 2003-12-27 2:37:09 PM |
| #4 A jet fueled for Paris to LA would have plenty left when it hit New York. |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2003-12-27 1:52:17 PM |
| #3 Ya know...one of the puzzling things about this Paris-LA hijacking threat was the distances involved. They might hit something in LA, or switch to Vegas (by which time the plane has burned a lot of fuel), or they might deviate to NY (and be met by fighters over the Atlantic). But a plane fueled for a Paris-LA run would make a nice big fireball in Rome. Wonder what are the odds of its getting all the way to Rome? Not high, I wager, though Al Qaeda might not know that. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2003-12-27 1:42:52 PM |
| #2 take out the Vatican and we want Mecca leveled....oh, and the 2nd, 3rd...up to 19th holiest sites in Islam....there's that number again dammit! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-12-27 1:29:17 PM |
| #1 the usual stuff and blabla of the italian dawrf! |
| Posted by: JoeDoe 2003-12-27 12:59:23 PM |